Guardian 29,794 – Vulcan

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For some reason I found this a bit trickier than usual for this setter, but it all came out in the end. Thanks to Vulcan

 
Across
1 SPECIAL BRANCH Force charged with protecting bird’s favourite perch (7,6)
A bird’s favourite perch could be its SPECIAL BRANCH; the Special Branch was a part of the Metropolitan Police, one of whose responsibilities was the protection of VIPs
10 AWKWARDLY Walkway twisting across road in inelegant fashion (9)
RD in WALKWAY*
11 BALSA A dog takes a turn round small wood (5)
S in reverse of A LAB[rador]
12 ENSUE Follow it out of the bathroom? (5)
EN SUITE (type of bathroom) less IT
13 EXECRABLE Very bad manager runs to get fit (9)
EXEC[utive] + R[uns] + ABLE (fit)
14 PRANCES Our neighbour’s quiet, not loud, frolics (7)
FRANCE (the UK’s geographical neighbour) with F (loud) replaced by P (quiet)
16 FARRAGO Random mixture from artist taken by partner to Wells (7)
RA (artist) in FARGO
18 OFFENCE Barrier’s a source of annoyance? (7)
Barrier’s = belonging to a barrier = OF FENCE
20 ABSOLVE A book to do crosswords, free (7)
A + B + SOLVE
21 FAVOURING Preferring food additive left out (9)
FLAVOURING less L
23 YANKS Some Americans are jerks (5)
Double definition
24 NONET In group of musicians nobody is on time (5)
NONE + T
25 ICE-SKATER Maker of figures perhaps carrying out trick with ease (3-6)
(TRICK EASE)*
26 SABRE-RATTLING Making aggressive threats sent Gibraltar wild (5-8)
(SENT GIBRALTAR)*
Down
2 PIKESTAFF Fish with rod – it’s comparatively plain (9)
PIKE (fish) + STAFF, with the definition referring to the expression “plain as a pikestaff”
3 CRAVE Desperately want to be less than wholly cowardly (5)
CRAVE[n]
4 ADDRESS Speak to a daughter over clothes (7)
A + D + DRESS
5 BAY LEAF Herb damaged by a flea (3,4)
(BY A FLEA)*
6 AMBERGRIS Yellowish fat said to be ingredient of perfume (9)
AMBER (yellowish) + homophone of “grease” (fat)
7 CELEB Is one’s fame brief? (5)
Cryptic definition: CELEB is an abbreviation of CELEBrity
8 WATERPROOFING Perhaps polyurethane demonstration interrupting work in garden (13)
PROOF (demonstration) in WATERING (work in a garden)
9 MADE‑TO‑MEASURE Forced to check size of such clothes? (4-2-7)
MADE TO (forced to) + MEASURE (check size)
15 CONDUCTOR For example, copper’s behaviour regularly poor (9)
CONDUCT (behaviour) + alternate letters of pOoR; copper is a good conductor of electricity
17 ARLINGTON From Northern town, heading off for cemetery (9)
A beheaded DARLINGTON, giving the US military cemetery in Virginia
19 EDIFIER With instruction I improve a little more if I decide to turn up (7)
Hidden in reverse of moRE IF I DEcide
20 AUGMENT A nutmeg prepared to grow larger (7)
(A NUTMEG)*
22 VINCA Plant initially valued by old Peruvian (5)
V[alued] + INCA – an easy clue for a word I didn’t know: it’s the periwinkle genus
23 YOKEL Burden borne by large countryman (5)
YOKE (burden) + L

50 comments on “Guardian 29,794 – Vulcan”

  1. Agreed, I found this stickier in places than expected – only finally twigged WATERPROOFING once all the crossers were in. But a fun puzzle, for sure. Thanks Vulcan and Andrew.

  2. Never heard of “plain as a pikestaff”. Come to think of it, never heard of a pikestaff. VINCA & FARRAGO were also unknown. All else was tickety-boo.

  3. I found it trickier than usual, too – but no less enjoyable for that. A good few clues were solved quickly enough to get me into the grid, but there was plenty to chew over, too, including some NHOs.

    Still none the wiser about my LOI, EDIFIER.

  4. Thanks Vulcan and Andrew
    Yes, trickier than usual. I liked SPECIAL BRANCH and ENSUE.
    I don’t think ABSOLVE means “free” by itself – “free from guilt”, yes.
    I won’t comment again on 17d.

  5. An enjoyable puzzle with some clever clues. I initially thought the partner to Wells in FARRAGO would be Bath before the penny dropped. For PRANCES, did anyone else wonder why our neighbour was someone called Frances? Probably not.

    Many thanks Vulcan and Andrew.

  6. Add me to the list of those who found today’s Vulcan a bit trickier than usual, though everything eventually resolved with crossers. Some very nice spots in here including the anagram for AWKWARDLY, the deletion in FAVOURING, the anagram for ICE SKATER and BAY LEAF and a very clean insertion in WATERPROOFING.

    Thanks both

  7. Could someone explain the meaning of ‘spot/s’ when commenting on a clue. Does it refer to something about the surface? Or point me to a link? Thanks in anticipation.

  8. Tough puzzle. My FOI was 20ac – I was starting to think I would not be able to solve a single clue on my first pass! Luckily there was a happy ending for me.

    New for me DARLINGTON town for 17d; VINCA plant; as plain as a PIKESTAFF (2d).

    scraggs@3 re EDIFIER – I thought of it as a teacher/edifier improves people’s minds. I’m not sure what the words ‘a little’ contribute to the whole clue.

  11. SueB@10 – ah yes, re ‘a little’ – of course! I forgot about that although I did parse it that way when I solved it.

  13. Somewhat difficult, but got there with the help of Chambers (didn’t know quite a few words), only misspelled VINCA (which isn’t in Chambers btw). Had difficulty with CONDUCTOR, which was my LOI, as I initially spelled SABRE differently. Enjoyable, as always with Vulcan; liked SPECIAL BRANCH, ICE-SKATER, WATERPROOFING and PRANCES. Thanks Vulcan and Andrew!

  14. Tougher Monday? Add me, please.

    Most enjoyable, though. Loved the idea of obey of our feathered friends having a SPECIAL BRANCH.

    OFFENCE went in for the crossers but still not sure how it works.

    Many thanks both.

  16. I couldn’t decide whether the “carrying” in ICE SKATER was wordplay or definition but either works for me.

    Muffin @4 at the risk of deja vu all over again, if I ask you which cemetery Audie Murphy is buried in and you reply ARLINGTON then it’s clear from the context that you are referring to a cemetery and with this clue the word “cemetery” is included in the wordplay so we have a context in which to associate the two words? We’re effectively being asked for a name rather than a synonym

    Cheers V&A

  17. I too had the other spelling of SABRE (to my horror I had used the American one) and thus struggled mightily with CONDUCTOR as my LOI (I had CONSOLUTEE but couldn’t make it parse).

  18. SueM@7, a nice spot is where the setter has seen an elegant way of constructing the cryptic part of the clue. Frequently, but not necessarily, applied to anagrams, where there is often an “aha” element (both ways).
    Agreed that this was a relatively tricky Vulcan – thanks to him and Andrew.

  19. Also found this harder than I was expecting from Vulcan. Maybe he coproduced it with Imogen.

    I incorrectly solved AMBERGRIS as a literal definition (I know it comes from the digestive system of whales) but I don’t think I have ever laid eyes on it. I did Google afterwards and can see it’s neither yellow or a fat.

    PIKESTAFF and FARRAGO were somewhere in my brain probably from previous crosswords but not words that come straight to mind.

    Enjoyed SPECIAL BRANCH, PRANCES and SABRE-RATTLING.

    Thanks Vulcan and Andrew

  20. Sorry I was in a rush and forgot to add my thanks to Vulcan & Andrew …
    The sabre / saber mishap aside I really enjoyed this puzzle.

  21. Layman @13, my Chambers has…
    vinca /vingˈkə/
    noun
    Any plant of the periwinkle genus Vinca

    I’m with bodycheetah @16 on ARLINGTON

  24. SueM@7: as I used that term immediately before you posted your query, my post might have prompted it. I use ‘spot’ simply to indicate that the setter has ‘spotted’ the potential for a nice construction – PROOF within WATERING for example.

  29. I also found this took me longer than the average Vulcan, possibly because of some less familiar GK. I knew about a “FARRAGO of lies”, but hadn’t ever considered what the word meant in isolation. Failed to spot the ENSU(it)E bathroom which was last in after WATERPROOFING (again, this didn’t immediately come to mind for polyurethane, and nor did ARLINGTON for a cemetery).

    But very enjoyable, with some funny surfaces. Favourite was SPECIAL BRANCH – my garden robin has one on the apple tree.

  30. TimSee@18 and PostMark@24, thanks for the explanations. I’ve often seen ‘spot’ referring to anagrams.
    Lovely puzzle, such neat clues. I enjoyed EXECRABLE, FARRAGO (both great words), anagrams ICE-SKATER and SABRE-RATTLING and the amusing PRANCES.
    Thanks Vulcan and Andrew.

  31. I was another who entered AMBERGRIS from what looked like a straight definition – which turned out to be inaccurate.

  32. layman @23, unfortunately, despite appearances, the online Chambers search isn’t the dictionary. For that you have to fork out pounds/dollars/rupees/euros/etc which I have done over the years for 2 paper versions and two e-versions.
    If you don’t think that is worth it, you would be better using Collins which won’t have everything in Chambers but it does have Vinca. 🙂

  33. Yes, harder than usual, I thought. I liked the EN SU(it)E, ABSOLVE (where Chambers, Collins and Oxford Thesauruses give free as a synonym: the fact that a criminal offence occurred a long time ago does not absolve the wrongdoer from guilt, the ICE-SKATER mathematician, AMBERGRIS, and EDIFIER, which was well-hidden.

    Thanks Vulcan and Andrew.

  34. I’m glad everyone else found this harder than usual, not just me. Thought SABRE-RATTLING and SPECIAL BRANCH were very good. Favourites were NONET and BAY LEAF. Nice start to the week.

  35. Did anyone else think for a bit that 11a might be ARAUC, A + CUR reversed around A for a small version of the former setter/monkey puzzle? No? OK then.

    Favorites were ENSUE and OFFENCE with its clever use of the ‘s. Only NHO was VINCA but I’d coincidentally been listening to Neil Young’s Trans last night which ends with a repeated reminder of where the Incas were from so it wasn’t much trouble to check that that plant existed.

    Is the dispute over whether ARLINGTON by itself can be used to mean a cemetery? That’s a common use over here; if you asked where Audie Murphy is buried I would say “Arlington.”

    Thanks Vulcan and Andrew!

  36. A quick time for me 30mins ish! One two I overthought, couldn’t convivce myself that was indeed the correct answer, one or two I completely missed the bus trying to parse. Then the tea tray*$**! arrived… Enjoyed nonetheless.

  37. matt w @35
    Your Audie Murphy example doesn’t even require that he is buried in a cemetery!
    My godmother frequently visited friends in Arlington, and I’m fairly sure she didn’t stay in a cemetery.
    While there, she was once picked up by the police for “walking”!

  38. There is a useful analysis that someone might do to help us all with future questions such as the absolve/free one here. I will only just start it here because I’ve just woken up and am not caffeinated yet, but here’s the basic issue.

    We have had other similar pairs, such as pay the bill/foot the bill, red bus/London bus and others. The problem is that the phrases match, but the semantic load is not carried equally by the component words in the two expressions.

    If “absolve from ” = “free from “, then the two words are synonyms, the setter is correct and everyone should be happy.

    If “absolve from guilt” = “free from guilt” (only in that or a very narrow set of expressions), then:
    Argument 1: for purposes of cryptics, free and absolve are mutually substitutable (note I didn’t say synonyms), and the setter is off the hook.
    Argument 2: the substitution does not work out of context, and the setter is guilty of loose thinking, and should not be absolved.

    The devil, though, is in the details: how big is the set to invalidate Argument 2 and endorse Argument 1?

    I really don’t know where I stand on this, but I hope I’ve added some clarity. Now for some coffee!

  39. Enjoyable puzzle, just the right level for me. Got most of it last night and the last eight this morning.

    I learned today that Wells Fargo were two people. I’d always thought it was one.

    Never heard of VINCA (though the wordplay made it super-easy) or DARLINGTON.

    I had 12a as an unparsed ISSUE, which made 8d impossible until I checked all its crossers and one of them disappeared. I would never have got ENSUE otherwise because for one thing “en suite” isn’t a thing over here. Even the cheapest motels have a bathroom for each bedroom. And apparently “en suite” doesn’t just mean where the bathroom is but the bathroom itself. “I left my toothbrush in the en suite.” Would anybody say that? I certainly wouldn’t.

    So thanks to Vulcan and Andrew for a pleasant evening and morning.

  40. Valentine @39; from the ODE: noun a bathroom that immediately adjoins a bedroom and forms part of the same set of rooms: the en suite is fully tiled in black and white and has a double shower.

  42. Held up a bit by my loi 17d ARLINGTON because of an error in one of the crossers, which I eventually noticed and fixed. Yes, a number of chewier clues, but enough gettable ones to keep things moving. Favourites 1a SPECIAL BRANCH (a lovely image, raised a laugh), 10a AWKWARDLY (“walkway” great anagram), 12a ENSUE (“follow it out of the bathroom” a great surface making a delightfully odd image), 23a YANKS (no offence intended!), 25a ICE-SKATER (excellent surface, could make an extended definition)

    24a NONET we seem to see this one quite often

    Dr. WhatsOn @38, another factor we might consider is your concept of “conservation of difficulty” (you mentioned (coined?) it a while ago). We might be more or less forgiving depending on the overall difficulty of the clue. In this case, the clue was not too tricky, so we might lean toward your Argument 1?

  43. Hadn’t previously realised how many synonyms/substitutes for bathroom I knew. Ages before I came up with en-suite -> ensue, at which point my banker start to 8d of ‘paint’ for polyurethane went down in pieces!
    Yes, a bit trickier than usual. Left with 8 & 19d unsolved. Very unusual for a Vulcan puzzle.

  44. My main hold-up was that, like Geoff Down Under@2, I’ve not consciously heard of a pikestaff (though it’s a logical composite) and certainly not the phrase. So although PIKE was tentatively given by the K, I needed all the checkers to come up with the whole thing.

    I didn’t particularly find this difficult, although ENSUE and OFFENCE were both clever and among my LOIs. I figured I was looking for a bathroom with IT in it, early on, but couldn’t think of it until the initial E. (Tiniest quiblet for the superfluous “the” in the surface which did make me ponder whether I had to lift that directly.)

    I also blinked at ABSOLVE = free, and was coming up with something like Dr WhatsOn@38 to determine to what extent I felt it acceptable. I feel its a bit dodgy because “absolve of guilt” is a pleonasm; that’s what absolve means, and so I’m not sure it’s fair to then substitute it for another word which is equivalent only in that one phrase.

    muffin@37, isn’t Arlington a metanym or whatnot, just as if one says “he went to Oxford” in the context of higher education then it’s understood that one means the University of Oxford and not the city’s branch of Greggs nor even Oxford Trent University?

    Anyway, a fun ride. Thanks both

  46. My apologies; now that I re-read the last bit of my main comment, I realise that it could come across as a bit facetious, whereas it was solely an attempt to be humorous. And I’m too late to edit it now. Please substitute Oxford United Stadium instead!

  48. In what way is ARLINGTON an example of metonymy? I mean – what’s it supposed to help you remember?

    Just joking (as was, and I knew) AP@44.

    That was a bit chewy for a Monday eh? So very entertaining. Fine surfaces too, especially that for ADDRESS which must have painted a vivid picture for many.

  49. Quite difficult to squeeze this into a very stressful day. I’m glad I held out and got it done. Arlington held me up, but no complaints here.

    As Mig says, many a nonet in crossword land recently.

    Thanks all.

  50. muffin@47 it’s a matter of taste, I guess. I don’t mind it for expressions that I would actually use in the real world (Oxford for the uni, Heathrow for the airport, Waterloo for the battle and indeed Arlington for the cemetery) provided that the necessary context is present in the surface. We do see examples which are less to my taste from time to time, where I wouldn’t use the “bare” word to represent the more specific thing. One that’s come up a couple of times this year, most recently just last month, is TET for “offensive”, which I can’t imagine me saying and which as fellow commenter mrpenney pointed out is actually a bit distasteful since TET is actually a culturally significant yearly celebration and so using it standalone for the offensive feels wrong, just as (again to use mrpenney’s example) using Yom Yippur standalone to refer to the war also would.

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